Key points
The EESC:
- supports the establishment of a robust soil monitoring framework for all soils in the EU to ensure and maintain their good health. However, it emphasizes that financial resources from environmental funds are crucial to achieving the goal of ensuring healthy European soils by 2050;
- has concerns about the methodology and criteria used to assess soil health, particularly the criteria determined at the discretion of Member States, which may lead to distortions of competition. Harmonization of these criteria is recommended to maintain consistency;
- suggests that the definition of good soil health proposed by the European Commission is too restrictive and recommends a multi-criteria rating system to more accurately assess soil health, rather than considering soil in poor health if it fails to meet any single criterion.